1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to loading ramps. More particularly, the present invention relates to a vehicle loading ramp which may be adjusted to safely load a variety of wheeled vehicles onto a carrying vehicle and remain rigid while in use.
2. Description of Prior Art
Vehicle loading ramps are widely used to load wheeled vehicles onto carrying vehicles. For example, people commonly use vehicle loading ramps to load all-terrain vehicles onto pick-up trucks.
There are two general types of vehicle loading ramps currently available. A first type generally comprises two independent load-bearing platforms. The platforms may be arranged with virtually any distance between the platforms in order to accommodate different wheeled vehicles. However, these ramps are unsafe, since they provide no means for locking the platforms together. As such, one of the platforms may slide laterally away from the other causing the wheeled vehicle to fall between the platforms. Additionally, one of the platforms may slide longitudinally with respect to the other and fall off the carrying vehicle, causing the wheeled vehicle to fall. In either case, the wheeled vehicle or the carry vehicle may be damaged. Furthermore, anyone near the wheeled vehicle may be injured.
A second type generally comprises either a single wide load-bearing platform or multiple load-bearing platforms rigidly connected. While these vehicle loading ramps are safer, they are heavy, unwieldy, and cannot be configured for storage in a narrow space. Additionally, these vehicle loading ramps cannot be adjusted. Furthermore, these vehicle loading ramps cannot be shipped to consumers, except by truck freight, which is complicated and costly.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved loading ramp that overcomes the limitations of the prior art.